If Fred Franz hadn't been such a witch-hunter, Ray Franz may have stayed on the GB and Crisis of Conscience may never have been written. By driving Ray out of the organization, Fred saved thousands from the clutches of the Watchtower.

They applied logic and reasoning to Bible Study, which no Mainline Church does.

Russell's "logic and reasoning" involved calculating end times dates based on the lengths of passages in the Great Pyramid of Giza as measured in modern-day inches, a measure which neither the Egyptians nor the Jews in Bible times could possibly have used.

Rutherford's "logic and reasoning" "proved" by jubilee cycles that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob would be resurrected in 1925.

Further reasoning led him to convince the WTS that they needed to build a house for them in San Diego.

When the patriarchs failed to show up despite his superior reasoning, Rutherford humbly decided to move into Beth Sarim himself.

And NO mainline church ever applies logic and reasoning to Bible study? Where did you come up with that? The Watchtower?

They study TOPICALLY; so they are more effective teachers.

If what you write is nonsense, what difference does it make if you arrange it topically?

Besides, whatever else you may think of mainline churches and their doctrines, in point of fact a lot of them DO study and teach topically.

I am 99.99% certain I received a full merit scholarship at a top school because of my JW legal take. A panel interviewed me. My heart was exploding with fear. I told the s tory of my mom and flag salute before the successful case. She was expelled at fourteen. Her brother had the highest score in NJ that year and was kicked out two days before graduation. My mom dreamed of being a fashion designer or teacher. She lived through me. The ACLU was defending the Nazis in Skokie so a black woman asked me what I thought. Crunch time! My grades, references, work history was acceptable but not excellent. As I knew the profs and dean more, I knew.

They also paired me with a very conservative student who was a cheer leader and never wore jeans. The other students wanted me to snitch on her. We were excluded from parties, trips b/c I would not invade her privacy. She had an equal right to be there.

No way am I saying that my itsy bitsy positive adds up to a useful thing.

The Witness culture exposed to me many black people at a time of great racism. They were true family friends. We would visit them in the housing projects. My classmates would see me by accident going in and out. I was so popular. It helped me weather bad race riots.

I was thinking of Russel before. If you watch those VILE videos about how he started the organisation off 100 odd years ago, it speaks about how he became annoyed that so many churches had fallen away from truth, and that he wanted to restore it. I believe that is at least one honourable thing he did.

Oh how annoyed he would be if he saw it today. What he created has just gone the same way. Hopefuly it will end soon too so that people can get on living their lives without having to feel pressure from their friends, family, or some stupid snot-nosed organisation.